Real Madrid: Isco exit would open way for Eden Hazard arrival
Zinedine Zidane is reportedly keen for Real Madrid to sell Isco in the summer, and is a firm admirer of Chelsea and Belgium star Eden Hazard.
Particularly if they are knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain, speculation over ins and outs at Real Madrid will be rife from here to the end of the season. Both during and after a disappointing campaign, it becomes the chief talking point surrounding the LaLiga giants.
Zidane reportedly wants Isco sold in the summer
And Isco's is the latest name in the headlines: the Spanish television programme 'El Chiringuito' claims that Zinedine Zidane feels let down by the midfielder's performances this term and, if he remains as Los Blancos' head coach in 2018/19, wants to offload the former Málaga man in the summer.
Zidane and Hazard: mutual appreciation
The sale of Isco would be a step that would open the way for Real to sign Eden Hazard, a player repeatedly tipped for a Bernabéu switch in recent years - links fuelled all the more by Zidane's well-known admiration for the Chelsea attacker, who he recommended to Los Merengues in 2010. Meanwhile, Hazard has on several occasions publicly said that he idolises the Frenchman.
One of the Premier League's leading lights, Hazard has been among the few positives in a Blues team in freefall this season, with his 13 goals so far (Isco has seven) making him the English champions' top scorer in 2017/18. The 27-year-old Belgian also has nine assists (compared to the Spaniard's six), just one fewer than Willian, who is Chelsea's leader in that department.
Hazard would cost more than 200m euros
Those are the figures of a footballer who, according to reports in the British media, would command a transfer fee of in excess of 200 million euros.
Frequently the victim of Zidane's undisguised predilection for the 'bbC', Isco has long had to live off first-team scraps contingent on at least one of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale being absent. Despite that, 'Zizou' seemingly wants more from a player unable to shake off three unwanted tags: accidental starter, the first man taken off, substitute on the big nights.
Together with the crisis at Real Madrid and Zidane's keenness on Hazard, it's a situation that has now left question marks hanging over his future.
